The fellow Indiana natives shared the sweet taste of a triumphant Hoosier homecoming as Newman capitalized on a two-tire strategy on his final pit stop and led the final 12 laps to fend off Jimmie Johnson and win the Samuel Deeds 400 at The Brickyard.

"(Crew chief) Matt Borland made an awesome call (to go for two tires instead of four on the final stop)," Newman said.

"Even before Ryan drove for us, we were friends, so that made that decision that much harder," said Stewart, whose team doesn't have enough sponsorship to field a fourth car for Newman, who has been with him since 2009. "That also is what makes this (win) more gratifying at the same time. It's an extreme to an extreme, and it's on the good end of the extreme this week."

Newman's crew showed no effects of being beleaguered by an uncertain future, starting from the pole position to end a 49-race winless streak.

"Hell yeah, they rallied behind me," said the South Bend, Ind., native who once slept in race shops around the Indianapolis area while breaking into racing on the state's myriad short tracks and also watched the first NASCAR test at the 2.5-mile track in 1992. "We were waiting for a special time to make all this stuff happen. It's like the perfect storm. I got fired a couple of weeks ago and come back and win the pole and win the race. All because of hard effort. ... All because these guys haven't given up. They want to win just as bad as I do."

So did Stewart, the Columbus, Ind., native who grew up idolizing the Indianapolis 500 and said Newman's victory didn't feel any different as a team owner than his Brickyard wins in 2005 and '07.

"Oh my God, what a dream," said Stewart, who enveloped Newman in a bear hug when he finally worked his way to the celebration. "I have been waiting for the day we could get Ryan in victory lane at a big one."

"Obviously, it helps," Newman said. "The emotions have been an absolute roller coaster, no doubt. There are a lot of questions to be answered, and we'll get through all that. But today we're celebrating a victory."

Newman's father was just as excited to see his son take the checkered flag.

"It was a lot of the same feeling I had in Daytona back in 2008," Greg Newman said. "He needed that (Brickyard 400 win) badly. … It's just so much to do something at the Brickyard."

Ryan Newman poses for a photo at the bricks of Indianapolis Motor Speedway with his wife Krissie Newman and their daughters after winning the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday.(Photo: Andrew Weber, USA TODAY Sports)

Johnson, who was seeking to become the first NASCAR driver to win five times at Indy, couldn't recover after losing the lead on a 17-second, four-tire stop under green on Lap 133. He finished second, followed by Kasey Kahne, Stewart and Matt Kenseth.

"Matt Borland made an awesome call (to go for two tires instead of four on the final stop)," Newman said.

Johnson was circumspect despite the missed opportunity.

"There's definitely disappointment there; we win as a team and lose as a team. … Ryan was fast all day long. "

Newman, whose last win came at Martinsville Speedway in April 2012, knew he had a good car, but so did Johnson. The two combined to lead 118 of the 160 laps.

Newman's mantra on the final 25 laps: "Man, just stay green."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth, rebounding from an early pit stop for a loose tire that left him a lap down. Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10.